A never-published photo book by Ed van der Elsken, titled "Feest," includes a black-and-white portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh during a state visit in the Netherlands
An unexpected surprise from the enfant terrible of Dutch photography. A never-published photo book by Ed van der Elsken, titled Feest, hit bookstores on October 24, almost three decades after his death in 1990. Among these forgotten photographs is a black-and-white portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh during a state visit in the Netherlands.
This never-before-seen image captures the royal couple in March 1958, when Queen Elizabeth II was just 31. They are seen chatting with Queen Juliana of the Netherlands at a banquet at the Ridderzaal in The Hague, while dignitaries and photographers surround them.
Also published for the first time in Feest are photographs taken by Ed van der Elsken in the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, at festive events such as the notorious book ball at the Concertgebouw building and the birthday party of Belgian author Hugo Claus.
For unknown reasons, the Dutch photographer never published these 134 images in a photo book, although researchers believe that he compiled this opus in roughly the same period that he was working on his famed Sweet Life.
